US nuclear regulator asks jobseekers political questions

WASHINGTON – A job notice posted by the US nuclear power regulator asks applicants political questions as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to increase influence over an independent agency.

The posting, seen by Reuters on July 14, asks applicants how their commitment to the US Constitution and founding US principles inspired them to pursue the job. The specific opening is for a senior operations engineer serving as an inspector in the division of operating reactor safety at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Also among the questions asked are how applicants would use their experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness, and “How would you advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role?”.

Mr Trump has been trying to

speed up NRC approvals of nuclear power plants

as the United States faces the first hike in power demand in 20 years, driven by the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres. The Republican President signed executive orders in May seeking to overhaul the NRC and directing the agency, which was founded as a regulator independent of the executive branch, to rule on new licences within 18 months.

Mr Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesperson, said on July 14 that the agency was “following Office of Personnel Management requirements regarding job postings”, referring to the US government’s human resources agency.

Under previous US administrations, questions in NRC job postings typically emphasised the applicant’s work experience pertaining to operating a nuclear reactor, not an applicant’s political opinions, said a person who works at the agency who requested anonymity.

In addition, a former chairman of the NRC told Reuters on July 14 that the questions on the posting amount to a political litmus test.

“If I saw something like this as chairman, I would tell the staff to replace them immediately with relevant professional questions, not something that reads like a lost chapter from Animal Farm on how to destroy professional expertise in government,” said Mr Greg Jaczko, who served as NRC chairman from 2009 to 2012 under former president Barack Obama. Mr Jaczko was referring to George Orwell’s 1945 satirical novel.

In the current job posting at issue, not all of the six questions were related to politics. One, for example, asks how work ethics have contributed to the applicant’s achievements, another asks them to confirm that they did not use AI in their responses. Mr Trump in June fired Mr Chris Hanson, a Democratic NRC commissioner, a move that was criticised by nearly 30 former NRC officials and employees.

Mr David Wright, the current NRC chair, told a Senate committee last week that a representative from Mr Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency is working within the NRC on reforming the agency. REUTERS